Is It Love?
by Dark Chobit
Summary: [BalthierFran] Postgame. As more people join Balthier and Fran on the Strahl, more problems arise. Balthier has to figure out where his heart really lies as those close to him fall to a mysterious disease, and he has to work with a rival on top of it.
1. Chapter 1

**Is It Love?**

_By: Dark Chobit//Fenris_

* * *

The silence was deafening, and it made Balthier slightly uncomfortable as he glanced at his partner, whose gaze was locked on the sky ahead of the _Strahl_. A day had passed since they had taken their ship back from Vaan and Penelo, and the Viera woman had been unusually quiet. While he was used to times when there was no speech between them and yet communication still occurred, this time was different. He couldn't tell what she might be thinking.

After he had glanced a few times, Fran looked over at the blonde man, her brow furrowing ever so slightly to match her near-annoyance. "What?" she inquired, wanting to know why he kept looking at her. Her voice seemed to startle him as it cut through the silence like a knife.

Balthier quickly regained his composure and looked back out at the clouds as the _Strahl_ passed through a few. "You've been quiet lately," he commented. "Is something wrong?"

After a pregnant pause, Fran spoke again. "You should go back if you want to see her," she said. Balthier knew she was referring to the princess who was to be Queen very shortly, as her coronation was about to take place, although he did not know why she mentioned her.

He turned over her words in his mind, as well as his thoughts of Ashe. While he wanted to go see her, he knew that being tied down to the ground in such a relationship wouldn't suit him in the least, and a Queen couldn't just take to the skies whenever the mood came to her. She was beautiful in his eyes, and he had heard the clear concern in her voice when she tried to get him to get out of the _Bahamut_, but he was wise enough to know when the leading man would have to choose freedom over love.

Fran's ear twitched a little as she waited for his response, and it drew him quickly from his thoughts. "She'll be a bit busy, I'm sure," he said. "Being the Queen and all. Besides, there's treasure to hunt, and she's not the type for that anymore."

The Viera woman nodded slightly, though her stomach growled and interrupted the quiet and the tension that Balthier hadn't even realized had been filling the room. He couldn't help but give a sort of lopsided grin to her, though she frowned when he did. "Hungry?" he asked teasingly, steering the _Strahl_ towards Bhujerba, deciding they could afford to dock for lunch, although he was also hoping that some fresh air might relax Fran a little.

They landed not more than a half an hour later and Balthier exited with Fran, leading her over to the local tavern. She sat down and ordered her food, and then Balthier ordered his, although the awkward silence returned when the waiter left, and it made Balthier even more uncomfortable. He drank a bit of his ice-cold tea to fight off the effects of the hot, muggy summer air that was filling the room, noticing almost with amusement that while he was fanning himself a little, Fran seemed unaffected by the heat. He frowned when she tensed slightly; he knew no one else would notice, as Fran kept her emotions in control, but he caught the brief flash of surprise and anger that swept across her usually stoic face. He followed her gaze and arched an eyebrow, almost amused at the sight.

A girl entered the bar, though she wasn't a Hume girl, but a Viera girl, and one that Fran would recognize very well. She sat down at the bar and asked for some water, oblivious to Fran's growing glare and frown. The woman stood and strode over to the younger Viera, who only then looked in her direction and seemed to pale slightly.

"Mjrn!" Fran exclaimed. Balthier rose as well, noting that Fran must be quite upset to raise her voice at all, and even then, it wasn't very loud. He knew better than to try to defend Mjrn in this situation, as it was Fran's issue to deal with, and it wasn't his business. "What are you doing here?" Fran asked the girl in an ostensibly calmer voice.

Mjrn slid off the stool and grabbed the water she had asked for. She seemed to regret this decision, as Fran was slightly taller than her and now had the advantage of being able to glare down at the girl.

"I couldn't stand to be there anymore," Mjrn replied, her voice coming out weak and betraying her nervousness. "Some Humes came through, adventurers," she said. "They told me more about the changes in Ivalice… I wanted to go with them and see it for myself."

Fran pursed her lips at this response, but both she and Balthier looked towards the door as a few men came in, whom they recognized as bounty hunters. The sky pirates exchanged a glance and wordlessly agreed on a plan, as starting a fight in a bar wasn't the best thing for them then. Fran grabbed their food and put it into a bag, leaving gil on the table for it while Balthier put a guiding arm around Mjrn's shoulders, leading her outside into the city streets. After the older Viera had joined them, they started back towards the Aerodome, but one of the bounty hunters called out.

"You, there!" he exclaimed. "Do you think you can just sneak past us?" he asked. He was a large Seeq, and sported a rather large axe in his hand.

Fran gave Balthier a look and he knew they couldn't afford to fight with Mjrn there, as there was too much risk for her to be hurt. He glanced at the Seeq and gave an arrogant sort of smirk. "Oh? I wouldn't dream of it," he said as he brandished his gun, stepping between the Seeq and the two Viera. "Fran, I'll meet you back at the ship," he said over his shoulder to her.

Her crimson eyes narrowed slightly, but she took Mjrn as she headed towards the Aerodome. When Balthier was sure the two were a safe distance away, his face lost its playfulness. "Now, you were saying?" he asked.

The Seeq ignored the comment and charged him, axe above his head, and his momentum made it a narrow escape for the blonde man as he dodged the blow. Balthier was a bit surprised with his speed, but shot the axe out of his hand. He scoffed a bit as he heard the local police running towards them, and he headed for the Aerodome. "It was nice to battle with you," he said, before running to the _Strahl_. He climbed into the cockpit, joining Fran, who had Mjrn seated behind her.

"We'll have to get going, fast," he said, and Fran nodded, understanding the urgency. They pulled out of the Aerodome and took to the skies right as the police reached their docking station, and Balthier let out a sigh of relief.

However, there was still the problem of that unhappy silence, and this time, the tension was twice as thick as before, and he knew that his partner was angry, but he also didn't want to interfere in family business when it wasn't his place.

"This is a nice ship," Mjrn said quietly, as she could feel the tension as clearly as though it was the Mist.

Balthier set up a few controls so the ship would maintain a certain flight while he stood, frowning a bit when the younger Viera started to cough harshly.

Fran rose, her lips pursed. "I'll speak with you later about leaving the Wood," she said in a tone that left no room for arguing. "For now, I'll show you a room that you can stay in. That cough doesn't sound good, I want you to rest," she said as she tugged her sister to the one spare bedroom in the _Strahl_. Her own room was next to it, and Balthier's next to that. Her door was closed, as it always was, but Balthier's was open to reveal a somewhat plain room filled with a few sentimental treasures or ones that weren't rare enough yet to fetch an extremely high price.

Balthier waited for Fran to come back to the cockpit, where he was waiting with his hands on his hips. "Are you going to scold her?" he asked. "Can you blame her for wanting to leave the Wood to see the world? It's the same as yourself."

She seemed to become tenser than before and Balthier regretted his words. "I don't need your lecturing now, Balthier," she said, and her harshness surprised him. He wondered if he had offended her in some way. He doubted that he had, as he and Fran had come to the most intimate understanding of each other that any two people could have. They had a sort of unspoken connection and could tell the other's emotions when strangers saw only a stoic mask.

"What are you planning on doing about Mjrn?" Balthier asked instead. He felt out of place, like something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what that something was.

Fran sat down in one of the chairs and sighed, holding her head in one hand as she looked at him. "I can't take her back to the Wood," she said in a rather defeated tone. "It's much too late for that, even Jote wouldn't accept her. But, that's not what's concerning me the most at the moment," she said.

Balthier gave her an inquisitive look as he sat down in the other chair, his elbows on his knees as his eyes locked on her. "What is concerning you, then?" he asked.

"That cough," Fran said. He found himself looking briefly at her lips when they curved into a frown, though he caught himself and brought his gaze back to her eyes, thankful that she didn't seem to have noticed. "I asked and she said it started just recently, after she was with the Humes. We Viera rarely get sick, so I'd like to keep an eye on her for a while."

The pirate nodded and leaned forward to pat her knee. "Well, we'll keep an eye on her, I'm sure it's nothing," he said, wanting to be reassuring. Some degree of relief met him when Fran offered the trace of a smile. "Where to next?" he asked.

"Let's head for Rabanastre," Fran said. "We can look for rumors of any hunts or treasures there." She barely managed to keep her face blank when she thought she saw excitement briefly pass over his face before he stood and went back to the pilot's seat to steer the _Strahl_ towards Rabanastre.

_Why did I have to go and suggest Rabanastre, of all places?_

* * *

**Author's Notes**: So! The first chapter. Let me know if it sucks and I'll quit while I'm behind. I just got struck by the mood to actually commit to writing something, and this is it. Please review and let me know if it's good, bad, anything. The title comes from a song by Iio, which I highly suggest you listen to. Disclaimers are stupid. Clearly, if I owned Final Fantasy, I'd be making a game out of this instead of writing a fanfic! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Is It Love?**

_By: Dark Chobit//Fenris_

It felt good to be back in Rabanastre, as he had always found the city to be a pleasant change from Archades, both in company and layout. Fran suggested visiting with Vaan and Penelo, and they were on their way to meet with them. Fran trailed slightly behind him, keeping an eye on Mjrn, whose cough seemed to worsen. Balthier stopped at the Sandsea, going inside and getting a cup of warm tea, bringing it out for the younger Viera to help ease her cough, and she thanked him with a smile before sipping it. Balthier felt pleased with himself when Fran's face softened slightly, and they waited for Mjrn to finish before going to see the two orphans.

Vaan seemed a bit surprised when they walked in the door, and a grin spread across Penelo's face. "Balthier, Fran!" she exclaimed, standing from the table to grab two chairs for them to join, stopping when she saw Mjrn. "Oh, and Mjrn, too?" she questioned. Her gaze went to Fran as though to ask permission for the girl to sit down as well; she wasn't sure if Mjrn was in trouble or not, but Fran gave a slight nod.

"What brings you here?" Vaan asked, taking a large bite out of an apple as he motioned for them to sit, which they did.

"Looking for marks, bounties, treasures," Balthier said with a bit of a shrug before thanking Penelo when she brought them drinks. "The Sandsea didn't have anything that caught my eye in particular. But, the city is full of rumors, and we'll find something."

Fran frowned when Mjrn started coughing harshly, and she led the girl outside to get some fresh air. Vaan looked at the two Viera before turning his gaze to Balthier. "What's wrong with her?" he asked in a more serious tone.

"I'm not sure, I think she may have picked up a bad cold from the Humes she was traveling with," he replied. He chatted for a moment, asking what they planned to do, before asking what had been on his mind a lot lately. "So, have you had much contact with the princess?" he asked.

Penelo seemed to frown a bit before shaking her head. "No, she's going to be the Queen. She looks so lonely, and I've told Larsa in my letters that Basch should go and see her, you know?"

Balthier nodded as his mind started wandering slightly. With the mention of Basch, he knew there should have been a huge pang of jealousy, but it was only a small one. He wondered, with some degree of relief, if he was getting over the little crush he had on the princess. "Well, we'd best be finding a hotel. We'll be around for another day or so, so we'll see you around. Just wanted to stop by for a little visit, but we need to get Mjrn somewhere where she can rest."

He stood and thanked them again before he went outside, shivering a bit from the sudden cold that came when the sun set in the evenings. "Let's get somewhere warm where we can stay for the night," he said to Fran, who was holding her sister as she coughed more.

They managed to find a place to stay, and Fran and Mjrn were to share one bed while Balthier got the other. Mjrn fell asleep quickly, and Fran watched her before getting out the nightgown she had to sleep in. She looked up at Balthier when she noticed him looking at her again.

"You've been looking at me often lately," she said. "Why?"

"You look a bit worried, that's all," Balthier said as he shrugged and grabbed his own change of clothes.

The Viera shook her head and went to the bathroom and changed, coming back out and putting her other clothes aside as she started to run a brush through her long white hair. He caught himself looking at her and shook his head a bit as he went to change as well, coming back out and crawling into bed. By that time, Fran had already curled up beside Mjrn in the other bed and he turned out the light, wincing a bit every time the girl started coughing again, as each one got progressively hoarse and painful sounding.

"Good night, Fran," he said quietly. He didn't get a response.

* * *

Balthier awoke early the next morning, too early to wake the two Viera, so he got dressed, put on his shoes, and headed outside to taste the cool air on the winds. There weren't many people on the street at that hour; a few merchants were setting up shop in the streets, and a few women were running around with baskets full of errand-goods, and a few hunters were out, trying to get a head start on the elite marks of the region. He preferred this somewhat to the typical daytime activities of Rabanastre, and he wound his way through the city, finally ending up in the square before the royal palace.

He stared at the balcony in the distance, but he shook his head and laughed a little at himself for his foolishness. Had he thought he might see Ashe? Did it matter if he saw her, even? He knew just as well as Penelo did that Basch truly loved her, and as for himself… he had already come to the conclusion that there was nothing in it for him for pursuing her affections.

"My sister fell to it just the other day," came a voice, and he looked toward the source, finding it to be two Viera women talking as they walked up the hill towards the market. "It's been going so quickly now… thankfully it hasn't reached Eruyt, or that might be the end of all of us," she said.

Balthier frowned slightly, wondering what they were talking about, though he busied himself looking at a merchant's fish, doubting the two would want an eavesdropper, especially a Hume one.

"I think it was that pack of Humes," the other said. "They brought the spores that brought the sickness, it was on their clothes and got into the air."

Balthier stopped, wondering if the sickness they were referring to was the same cough that Mjrn had. He dropped the fish and looked at the two before deciding it might be best to get back to the hotel and tell Fran about what he had overheard.

When he returned to the hotel, he was surprised to see Fran and Mjrn were already up and dressed. "Good morning," he said, closing the door behind him. He couldn't help but frown slightly to see that Mjrn seemed paler than she had the night before, and Fran seemed to notice as well.

"Good morning," Fran answered, running a brush through her hair one final time. She had let it down today and was dressed in casual clothes because they were just walking around and not intending to fight anyone. As it was the middle of summer, she had opted for black shorts and a white shirt, although she kept the little sleeves she wore with her armor. "It's going to be hot, you might want to change," she said, referring to his long-sleeved shirt and long pants.

"Yes, mother," he said jokingly as he grabbed some more weather-appropriate clothes and brought them into the bathroom to change. When he came back out, he grabbed some sunglasses and looked over at Fran. "We need to talk," he said. He preferred not to mention the deaths of other Viera in front of Mjrn.

She nodded and went outside with him, shielding her eyes with her hand for a moment, while Balthier put on his sunglasses. When her eyes adjusted, she lowered her hand and started walking with Balthier. "What did you want to talk about?" she asked after a pause, while Mjrn went a little ahead to look at merchants' wares.

"I overheard two Viera saying that a disease has killed a few of them, and that they believe it came from some traveling Humes…" he trailed off, knowing she would make the connections needed.

Her face darkened as she realized what he meant, and she looked over at Mjrn, although her words were directed at him. "There has to be a cure," she said.

Balthier nodded as he headed into the Sandsea, checking the notice board. He really wanted to buy time to think about ways to find a cure, but his thoughts were interrupted when a man approached them and grinned.

"Long time no see, Balthier," he said, turning his charming grin towards Fran. "Oh? And who is this lovely Viera? A girlfriend, perhaps?"

Fran's eyes narrowed slightly, and Balthier frowned. "This is Fran, she's my partner," he said, his tone slightly annoyed. "What brings you here, Rigel?" he asked.

"To check the notice board, of course, the same thing you're clearly here for. Unless, of course, you're romancing your partner with some drinks?" Rigel countered. He gave Fran another charming grin, and she made note that he was an example of the reason her kind thought Humes to be strange. She walked past him and over to Mjrn, oblivious to Balthier's relief and Rigel's pout.

"Leave her alone, Rigel," Balthier warned, before he turned and went to pull a bill off the board, although Rigel grabbed it at the same time.

He couldn't help but frown as Rigel snatched the bill and ran a hand through his dark brown hair, his green eyes shining with amusement. "Looks like we're partners for this mark, just like old times," he said, waving the bill.

_Great, that's just what I was looking for: 'old times' with Rigel…

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**Author's Notes**: Yep yep, so here's chapter two. I think it's kinda funny… 3 reviews, but as I'm writing this, 89 people have read the story. I've gotten positive feedback, though, so I'll keep posting and not feel like a moron for doing so. Has anyone else noticed that most of the guns are named after stars or astronomical things? I got Rigel's name from a star in a constellation, and a cookie goes to whoever can name the constellation it's from.

Do you think Fran and Balthier are in character? I get a little annoyed when people make Balthier this silly person when he's really not goofy, just sometimes humorous in a sarcastic way.


	3. Chapter 3

**Is It Love?**

_By: Dark Chobit//Fenris

* * *

_

Mjrn watched with some amusement, despite her painful coughing, the way that her sister and the two Hume men interacted as they walked through the desert after meeting with the petitioner of the bill. Fran had explicitly told her to avoid the new Hume man and to keep a little behind the trio in case something should attack, and it gave her the perfect spot to view their conversation.

From what she had gathered in the biting words exchanged between the two men on the way to meet the petitioner, the two had met before Balthier and Fran were partners; Rigel had been Balthier's partner for a month or so before they realized they just didn't get along together. Mjrn couldn't understand how they didn't get along, since she felt Rigel was roguishly charming and handsome—for a Hume, that is. His hair was long, just past his ears and brown, messy like he had just rolled out of bed. He was just an inch or so shy of Balthier's height, but of all of the things about him, it was his eyes that caught Mjrn's attention the most. They were a beautiful color of green, a hue she felt she hadn't seen, despite being surrounded by green in Eruyt. They drew her in, they were intoxicating, and seemed almost to glow.

Fran seemed to realize her sister was staring at the man and fell behind a little to walk beside her. "Falling in love with a Hume isn't something you want to do," she said as she looked up at the quarreling men. "It's not worth it."

Balthier turned back to them then, squinting a bit as the sun reflected off the sand. "Hey, the wyrm is just ahead," he said, as they had agreed to take Mjrn along if she would stand away from the fighting while they took down the mark.

Fran looked past him, nodding a bit when she saw the wyrm as well. She made Mjrn stand there while the three of them approached it slowly. Fran drew an arrow, ready to strike it, as Balthier readied his gun and Rigel his sword. The wyrm looked back at them, its eyes glinting in the light of the sun as it turned to face them, a low rumbling starting in its throat.

The three ran in different directions, hoping to surround it on all sides to better attack it. Fran drew the arrow back and let it fly, but it didn't seem to penetrate the tough hide and she frowned deeply, deciding to use magic on it instead, summoning her energy for a powerful water spell.

Balthier kept his attention on the wyrm, but he kept getting distracted by Rigel, who seemed to be using extravagant and showy maneuvers, as though he were trying to impress someone, and after a brief moment of confusion, Balthier realized he was showing off for Fran. He frowned a bit to himself, although he wasn't sure why that knowledge made him so angry.

He looked up at the wyrm, seeing an opportunity to also display his own talent when it came to fighting, where before he had been just worried about killing the damned thing. He dodged a blow from one of the dragon's claws, which it had swiped at him when the glint off his gun caught its attention. He smirked a bit as he shot at its chest, although that smirk turned to a frown when the bullet ricocheted off the tough hide that covered the dragon's belly and just wound up in the sand a short distance away. He muttered a curse under his breath, preparing another shot, this time aimed for the dragon's eye, knowing that surely had to be a weak spot in its defenses.

Fran was tempted to roll her eyes as she kept casting magic on the dragon, as that seemed to be the only effective method in injuring it. She couldn't believe how Balthier was acting; Rigel, she understood, because she didn't know him well enough to roll her eyes if he showed off around her like a fool, but she knew that wasn't Balthier's style in a serious battle and she wasn't sure why he was so tempted now, of all times, to show off. She wondered, perhaps, if this were some sort of ritual between male Humes, to be unnecessarily extravagant in times when force was all that mattered. She put the thought out of her mind, as she wasn't fool enough to let herself get distracted by the two men and their silly competition while Mjrn was so close by and possibly in danger, should they fail at their task.

Balthier barely moved out of the way when the dragon lunged at him suddenly, and he felt his shirt rip a little as its teeth swiped him. It sobered him, and he quickly maneuvered his gun and shot the creature in the eye. It tossed its head away from him as it let out a deafening cry of pain, and he made sure to keep his mouth firmly closed and his eyes squeezed shut when a fountain of blood hit him. He grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood away from his orifices, as dragon's blood was the foulest smelling thing, aside from Marlboro breath, that he had ever smelled in his life, and the desert heat just intensified the odor.

He heard a harsh cough, and the color drained from his face, as he knew Mjrn was too far away to hear. Everything seemed to be in slow motion to him, like the world was just starting to end. He turned his head to look at Fran, wanting to believe he'd imagined that he had heard her cough like that, and at the same time she turned her head towards him. Something registered on her face and she called his name, and it broke him out of the trance enough to look at the dragon again, the biggest concern of the moment, just in time to see its tail flying towards him, too quickly for him to move out of the way or any other such thing. All he knew was his feet were off the ground, and before he could even register any of that, there was a sharp pain in the back of his head and his vision went black as his mind got foggy. He could vaguely feel liquid warmth surrounding the back of his head when he fell back into the sand, and he thought he heard people running towards him.

_Am I dying…? This can't be how it ends, there's too much left to do…

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**Author's Note**: Sorry this chapter is so long XD The next chapter really ties in with this one, but combining them would make this chapter much too long, and I felt I needed to get my butt in gear and update. So, enjoy! Rigel's got a description now. I'm glad I'm keeping everyone sufficiently in character. Don't worry, Balthier's not dead! I can't just kill him off like _that. _AshTheBrave gets the cookie - Rigel is a star in the constellation Orion. Did you also notice that a lot of thr guns are named after starts? Aldeberan - Al Deberan, the eye of the bull in Taurus, and a few others as well. Of course, I've been up since six after staying up until eleven to catch Top Chef, so I'm a bit tired and delusional right now XD


	4. Chapter 4

**Is It Love?**

_By: Dark Chobit//Fenris

* * *

_

When Balthier woke up, his head was pounding and he felt horrible. After gingerly touching his head, he felt gauze, and knew something was wrong. The door opened then, and Fran came in with a somewhat amused look and a tray with food on it. He eyed her a bit suspiciously, wondering if there were some sort of horrible bruise or mark on his face that she was silently laughing about, but wouldn't inform him of.

"What's so funny?" he asked a bit defensively, as he propped the pillows up on his bed and leaned against them.

Fran shook her head to dismiss his question and set down the tray on his nightstand before pulling up a chair and sitting in it. "How does your head feel?" she asked as she leaned forward and gently took his chin in her fingers, turning his head so she could see the back of it.

It was one of the strangest feelings Balthier had ever felt before. There was strange twisting sensation in his stomach, light and airy, and his throat felt dry. He could feel his cheeks heat up and redden a bit, and he wondered to himself when Fran had become so soft, furthering his blush. Then, he remembered that she was expecting a reply from him.

"Uh, it's fine," he said quickly, realizing he hardly sounded like his usual self, and Fran gave him a bit of a look, and he knew she knew it was off as well. "It'll take more than a knock on the head to get me down. You know that, Fran."

She seemed to be satisfied with the answer and sat back in her chair again. "I don't know what got into you, but you were staring at me a bit stupidly, and you should've been paying attention to the fight," she said, slightly annoyed. "I called your name but that was a bit late. The wyrm hit you with its tail and you went flying into a rock," she said.

He tried to recall the situation as he frowned a little. "Ah," he said, wondering if she would question him about why he had stared.

"You didn't quite lose consciousness, and Rigel had to carry you back to the _Strahl_ on his back after we'd defeated the wyrm. You kept waking up and trying to speak, but it came out as slurred mumbling," she explained, the amused look returning to her face.

He felt his cheeks burn again, this time from the knowledge that Fran was laughing at _him_. He was also embarrassed that Rigel, whom he found completely unlikable, had carried him on his back through the streets of Rabanastre, all the way to his own airship. Something about that just made him want to track the man down and give him a black eye.

"Where is he now?" he asked a bit stiffly, not quite looking the Viera woman in the eye. He wasn't positive on what his feeling was, and he certainly didn't want Fran to find out what it was before he could.

"He's eating with Mjrn, they're in the kitchen," she answered. "I brought you some food as well," she said as she motioned to the tray.

Balthier took it and started eating what was on it, his stomach rumbling loudly. He stuffed the sandwich into his mouth to keep from making any sort of biting remark about the fact that she had let Rigel, of all people, onto his ship and wasn't kicking him out. _His_ ship! He had to decide who could come on and who couldn't!

"You should be careful for a bit," Fran said, her voice slightly softer than before, although only someone who knew her as well as Balthier did would ever pick up on it, since it was such a miniscule change. "Rest, and don't push yourself. Head injuries need plenty of time to heal."

He was somewhat surprised and flattered by the tenderness and nodded. "Of course," he said. "Why did you let Rigel onto the _Strahl_?" he asked, frowning a bit as he said it.

Fran stood. "He helped carry you back. I couldn't just tell him to get off after he helped like that."

She turned and walked out of the room. Balthier sat there silently for a few minutes, finishing his meal, before he set it aside and stood as well. He didn't want to give Rigel a chance to be alone with Fran, not after how the man had been looking at her during the hunt.

He found them in the modest kitchen, laughing at some joke Rigel had said before Balthier entered the room. Mjrn sat on one of the stools near the kitchen island, and Rigel leaned against the counter, with Fran leaning on the opposite wall, eyeing the exchange between her sister and the Hume a bit suspiciously.

Rigel turned his attention to the other sky pirate when Fran's eyes flickered to him. He gave him a lazy sort of grin. "So, you're up, I see," he said, his grin turning slightly mischievous. "I also see that Fran has the power to drag even an injured man out of bed and away from rest with her beauty."

This set a frown into Balthier's face, but he was relieved when the Viera woman rolled her eyes at Rigel. Mjrn, however, seemed slightly jealous of his words, stiffening a little, one of her ears giving a slight twitch.

"Thank you for carrying me back," Balthier said, the words almost forced. "Now, you've helped, I've thanked, and it's time for you to leave."

Mjrn started coughing harshly when she tried to exclaim a reply, and Fran strode over to her, lightly placing her hands around the girl's shoulders. "Let's get you into bed where you can rest," she said, though a frown visibly formed on her face when Mjrn coughed harder.

The rough sound of it was enough to make Balthier wince slightly, and he knew it had to be even more painful for Mjrn. He went over to the sisters and helped Fran lead Mjrn back to her room. The younger girl kept coughing, even as they got her into bed.

"Rigel, go get her some water," Balthier ordered before he turned his concerned gaze back to Mjrn, who managed to stop coughing enough to take a long inhale. She let out one more cough, harsher than the ones before, and her eyes widened slightly.

Balthier looked at her curiously as she pulled her hand away from her mouth shakily, and he could feel Fran tense beside him. He looked down at the girl's hand, nearly cursing when he saw the blood in her palm.

"Rest," he said, taking a wad of tissues to clean the girl's hand. Tears started to stream down her cheeks and he grabbed some more and wiped away her tears. "We'll get you something to calm the cough."

Fran seemed to regain her senses as she made Mjrn lie down. She took the glass of water that Rigel offered when he returned, and set it on the nightstand. She rose and walked out of the room, issuing the silent command to Balthier to leave as well. He turned out the light and softly closed the door behind him.

"Well, that was hardly good," Rigel said, earning a glare from Balthier, who didn't want the other man to upset Fran.

Balthier leaned against the wall and said, "We need to concentrate on this… thing."

"There has to be some sort of cure for what she has," Rigel insisted as he folded his arms over his chest.

Balthier turned to make a comment back when Fran made a muffled noise, catching the attention of both men. Fran frowned a bit and looked up at them.

"What?" she asked, though Balthier could tell that something was wrong.

"What was that noise?" he asked suspiciously, and Rigel folded his arms over his chest, also in disbelief that nothing had happened.

She opened her mouth to protest that nothing was wrong, but this time she coughed, and quickly closed her mouth, looking a bit startled.

Balthier sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Not you too…" he said.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Yep yep. Sorry, this had sort of a bad cliffy, I just sort of went flop towards the end of this chapter. But! Dun dun dun! Fran's coughing too D: I have to apologize about the last chapter: writing fight scenes is definitely not my forte. I'm terrible at it, so the fact that I dragged my butt through that last chapter is a miracle, but I figured action was necessary to keep the story interesting. I'm open to any suggestions about the story or anything :D 


	5. Chapter 5

**Is It Love?**

_By: Dark Chobit//Fenris_

"I'm fine," Fran insisted, sitting stiffly on the bed. Balthier gave her a skeptical look as he and Rigel stood by the door. The Viera woman looked tense, cornered, and was reluctant to say anything more than that the cough was harmless.

Balthier was tense as well, though not entirely for the same reasons. He was worried about Fran, and he wanted her to stay put while he tried to talk to someone, anyone, about any kind of possible cure. The words of the two Viera women he saw in Rabanastre echoed through his head, and all he could think about was the danger that Fran seemed to be in.

"Can I talk to you outside a minute?" Rigel asked. He walked out of the room with Balthier, ignoring Fran's deathly glare at being excluded from the conversation. "This disease… I heard about it a little while ago from some girls from Eruyt," he said. He leaned against the wall, sighing a bit. "I also heard there's a cure."

Balthier's attention perked at the news. "A cure? Where?"

"I'll help find it," Fran said. Balthier turned to see she'd stepped out of her room and had her arms crossed over her chest, creating quite a lovely image in his mind; she looked defiant and proud, despite her soft features.

"Fran," Balthier said, deciding that being firm with her was his only chance of getting her to rest while they searched. "We'll look for it, and we'll find it. You stay here with Mjrn, she'll need you, and you'll both need rest."

The glare he received was one of the most frightening he'd ever seen from her. She walked over to him, and, since she was in her heels, was his height, if not slightly taller. "I'm going with you. It's my life, and I'm not just going to sit and hope you're doing everything right. I'm going to get out there and look for it as well, for Mjrn. End of discussion."

Balthier wanted to argue with her, and he wanted to tell her that he was worried and didn't want her condition to worsen at all. He had so many things that he wanted to say, but all he could manage to do was nod and try to regain some dignity that he clearly lost from having a woman dominate him. He looked away from both her and Rigel, as the man was raising an eyebrow. "I understand," he said. "You can come, just don't overexert yourself."

There, he'd said it. At least, he'd come close to saying it. Fran backed down and seemed satisfied with the answer, but Rigel seemed both amused and surprised. "She really has you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?" he asked, a grin spreading across his face. "The prodigal son, around the finger of a woman. I don't blame you, she is beautiful."

Balthier quickly looked over at him, hoping his burning cheeks were in his head and not visible to the others. "What are you talking about?" he said, trying to sound calmer and more collected than he felt. "I'm not wrapped around anyone's finger. The leading man doesn't get wrapped around fingers, you know." Inside, however, Balthier was fuming. _Look at him, the smug bastard! He's laughing at me!_ Balthier thought. _How could he blurt that out right in front of Fran?_

Fran didn't seem to be fazed by Rigel's words, although she glanced at Balthier, looking for some sort of reaction. "You're blushing," she said simply. She turned and headed towards Mjrn's room, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she did. "I'll head to the cockpit after I check on Mjrn," she said.

Balthier wondered what it was he had heard in her voice and seen on her face, but he couldn't place the emotion. Since when had he lost the ability to read her, to be able to tell how she was feeling and what she was thinking? She'd reverted back to the mysterious woman she'd been when he first met her, and he couldn't grasp the cause.

"You're such a moron," Rigel said, shaking his head a bit. "If you're not careful, I'll have to make the move where you failed." He, too, walked down the hallway to the other guest room, leaving Balthier alone in the hall, confused and lost.

* * *

Balthier was relieved when the _Strahl_ landed with a soft thud onto the ground in the Nam-Yensa Sandsea. The trio got off the ship, and Balthier kept a concerned eye on Fran, although he did so as discreetly as he could. He'd discovered the hard way that Fran hated to be babied while sick, as she'd taken to growling at him if he started fretting too much. He mentally kicked himself as well, as it was unlike him to be so concerned, but the thought of Fran dying stirred a strange emotion in him that made his chest ache. He'd always expected to die with her still looking as young and beautiful as she did now.

"Stop staring," Rigel said, slinging an arm around Balthier's shoulders, startling from his thoughts, as the green-eyed man took a swig of water from his bottle. "You're going to give yourself an ulcer worrying. Focus on the cure."

Balthier quickly ducked out from under his arm, frowning and fixing his shirt a bit. "You really don't know what you're talking about," Balthier said. "Stop making assumptions about what I'm thinking."

Rigel held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Hey," he said. "Just tryin' to be a good buddy."

Fran rolled her eyes as the both of them, starting off through the sand. She wanted to get the first ingredient of this possible cure as soon as possible, for Mjrn's sake. They'd left the girl in Rabanastre with Vaan and Penelo, so that she could be cared for while the three of them were getting the ingredients for the medicine. When they'd left, Mjrn had been very pale, with shallow breathing and harsh coughing in bursts. She could feel the tingle in her throat and the ache in her lungs and chest, but she wasn't as bad, nor did she plan on admitting feeling sick to the two men.

Balthier caught up with Fran, looking at the paper listing the items needed, which they had received from the medicine woman that Rigel had referred them to. "So, this flower…" he trailed off. "The Byara," he said. "It's said to be very rare, and grows in cliffs or sandy places. Let's start somewhere very sunny. What color is it?"

"Blue," Fran answered curtly. "Pale blue. Start looking."

"I'll go try the cliff wall over there, you two split up and get your own cliffs!" Rigel called as he went over to one of the cliffs, searching.

"He has the right idea," Fran said as she walked away from Balthier to look at another cliff, leaving the sky pirate standing there, watching her.

He turned and gave a deathly glare to Rigel, although the other man didn't see it. "Think you can make me look the fool, do you?" he muttered, quite unhappy that Fran seemed to approve of Rigel more than him. He walked over to a third cliff, bristling that Rigel was already climbing up the side, examining the flowers growing on the side. "He's trying to outdo me!" Balthier looked back at the rock, determined to prove that he could beat Rigel in this, and he started picking out places to scale the rock, searching for this pale blue flower.

"What is it with those two?" Fran said to herself, frowning disapprovingly at both men. She wished Balthier would return to his old self, and also wondered why he had been so strange lately. She dismissed the thought and started looking closely at the wall, deciding the two men would be of no use to her, since they were caught up in some silly sort of competition, though she couldn't understand why.

She didn't start to feel light-headed until about mid-day, when the blazing sun was directly overhead. Fran took a glance back to where Balthier was, blinking to try to focus her eye-sight, but it didn't help. She took a gulp of water and shook her head, trying to clear it, but the action just made her sway. The next thing she knew, there was san beneath her, and she had to close her eyes because the sun was shining directly into them. A moment later, something blocked out the light, and she opened her eyes as Balthier quickly pulled her up a bit, one arm around her shoulders.

"Are you all right?" he asked, the concern clear in his voice as he pulled off the cap of his water jug and held it to her lips. Fran couldn't find her voice, so she simply nodded and drank the water he offered, feeling a bit better after she did so.

Balthier let her drink a bit more, looking around for some sort of shade to bring her to, and found a small spot near the cliffs. He scooped her up into his arms and brought her over to the shade, sitting her back down again as he searched her face. "You should be all right in a few minutes," he said softly.

"This is pathetic," Fran answered, though she didn't move from the shade. "Collapsing like that."

Balthier shook his head. "No, you're just sick and the heat got to you. The Sandsea is infamous for it."

Fran watched him for a moment, her face softening slightly. "Balthier…" she started, but Rigel came running over to them then, a huge grin on his face as he held out his hand with the flower in it.

Balthier stood and took the flower, examining it before nodding, feeling some of the weight in his chest lift. "This is it," he said, looking back down at Fran. "We can scratch that off the list. Three more items to go."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Holy crap I'd seriously forgotten about this story D: Sorry it took so long to update! I got really busy the past few weeks with assignments and such. Ha! Who wants to kill Rigel? He killed the mood.

On a side note, the other day I found an old FFVIII story I did about three years ago or so, although I dunno if any of you might remember it. I'm thinking about rewriting and revising it and posting it again here. What do you say?

Basically, it's AU and Seifer is a guy being accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, Rinoa. He hires Quistis as his lawyer, and they're trying to find out the truth, yadda yadda. If you remember this, I'll seriously hump your leg, I'd be amazingly happy. Anyway, yes or no?

Second side note: Anyone catch the lunar eclipse tonight:D


	6. Chapter 6

**Is It Love?**

_By: Dark Chobit//Fenris_

Fran felt much better the following day, as their group walked through the Necrohol of Nabudis. Fran could see the best through the darkness, so she walked ahead of the two pirates; she was glad for the chance to be away from them, since both had started to frustrate her beyond imagination. She had never realized how confusing and strange men could be, but after they had gotten back to Rabanastre and spent the night with Vaan and Penelo, she had heard Rigel and Balthier bickering with each other in hushed but violent whispers after everyone had gone to bed. She hadn't been able to make out what they had said for the most part, but she did hear her name mentioned more than once.

She didn't want to take the time to pull Balthier aside and demand an explanation for his unusual behavior, so she decided to leave it for after Mjrn and herself were cured. She stopped her brisk walk, and nearly had Balthier run into her, when she caught some movement down a hall. She drew her bow and pulled back an arrow on the string. "We have company," she said coolly.

Balthier looked where she had indicated and sighed a bit. "I hate these little trolls," he muttered, seeming even more annoyed when Rigel went towards it and started to attack with a sword, and Fran sent an arrow to aid the attack, leaving Balthier no opportunity to help.

Rigel came back over and gave Fran a sort of grin. "You've got very good aim," he said. "I'm impressed."

She tilted her head slightly, but otherwise, neither man could read what was on her face. "Thank you."

"We're wasting time," Balthier said as he headed down one of the hallways. "It's supposed to grow in extremely dark places and glow very faintly," he said, referring to the root they were searching for. He tried to convince himself that he didn't care if Fran talked to Rigel, or even if Rigel wanted to try to date her, like he had suggested the night before when he accused Balthier of being jealous.

Balthier stopped and glanced into a small room off one of the halls, relieved to see that it was very dark. He went inside, looking for the faint roots, while Fran and Rigel followed, doing the same. As Balthier groped the ground near some loose stones, trying to overturn them to see if the roots were underneath them, his hand met another, softer hand, and he blushed.

"Sorry," Fran said, moving her hand and going back to overturning loose stones. She didn't seem to be fazed at all by the touch, unlike Balthier.

"It's okay," he answered after a moment, searching in the opposite direction. He wasn't focused anymore, and ended up discovering the roots, but kept turning over stones anyway, not noticing the faint light because his mind was on Fran.

"There!" Rigel exclaimed, getting the roots and putting them into a special bag to keep out all light to preserve the rare plant. "We're really close," he said, stepping out into the hall and grinning at Fran when she came out.

Fran didn't say anything about the grin, and simply took the bag, putting it into a larger bag she had been carrying. "Let's get back to Rabanastre," she said. "I want to check on Mjrn."

* * *

Mjrn sat in the living room of Penelo's home, as she insisted on staying up and out of bed because she hated being babied by the two Humes. Her ears perked as the door opened and Fran, Balthier, and Rigel came in. She pushed herself to her feet and made an attempt at a smile. "You're back," she said, blushing faintly when her voice came out raspier than she had hoped, and her blush deepened as Rigel approached and ruffled her hair lightly.

"You shouldn't be up," he said, giving her his most charming grin. "I'd hate to come back just to hear that you'd overexerted yourself and passed out," he said.

The redness crept from her cheeks to the rest of her face as she lowered her eyes and nodded. "I'll be careful," she promised, before looking over to her sister, who seemed to disapprove of the attention that the Hume man was paying to her.

"He's right, you should rest," she said. "Lie down and I'll make you some tea. You sound like the coughing isn't bothering you much anymore," she said as she headed into the kitchen.

"Penelo gave me some lemon and honey to drink," Mjrn called after her. "It's been pretty good for the last couple of minutes."

Rigel sat on the couch and patted the space beside him, and Mjrn sat down beside him. "You're going to be back to normal soon, we've only got one more thing to get for you," he said.

Balthier followed Fran into the kitchen, smiling a bit at Penelo as she passed on her way out the door. He sat down in the kitchen and watched Fran go about making some tea for her sister, unable to help thinking about how he had touched her hand earlier.

"What?" Fran asked as she put the water on the stove and leaned against the counter, facing him.

Her voice flustered him slightly and he shook his head. "Nothing," he said. "Nothing is wrong. How are you feeling? All right?"

She sighed and sat down at the table with him. "Yes," she said. "Why don't you go out? You seem like you're not ready to settle down for the night. Why don't you go try to see Ashe?"

Ashe's name sounded foreign to Balthier. He thought about her for a moment, but the more he tried to imagine her face, the less he could, since Fran's face kept replacing it. "She's probably busy," he answered.

Fran fell silent, and Balthier followed suit, both avoiding eye contact with the other. The first sound that disrupted the silence was the sound of boiling water. Fran rose – gracefully, Balthier noticed, something he had never quite paid attention to before – and poured the water into a cup, putting in the tea bag. When had she gotten so pretty?

"I'll stay in for the night," Balthier said. "I could use the rest. I don't want to see Ashe."

"Since when? Just a little while ago you were talking about how you thought you might love her," Fran stated, something different on her face as she added some honey and milk to the cup. What was that tone Balthier thought he heard in her voice?

Before he could answer her, she took the cup of tea out to Mjrn. She didn't come back, and he could hear her speaking softly with her sister. He sighed and stood, stretching his hands high above his head before he headed into the guest room, deciding to get to sleep early, since they would have to get up before dawn. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow in the guest room, and he didn't wake until much later that night. He opened his eyes, and when they adjusted, he could see Rigel sleeping in the other sleeping bag, snoring slightly. He wondered why he had woken up, when he heard another cough. He got up and went out into the hall, then to the living room, seeing that Fran was sleeping on her sleeping bag out there.

He sat down beside her, his face softening a bit as he lightly brushed a tendril of silvery white hair away from her face. "Are you all right?" he asked softly, but when she didn't stir, he bit his lip a little. After a moment, he found himself looking at her lips. He leaned over slowly, about to kiss her before he could realize what he was doing. Right before his lips could touch hers, there was another loud cough that startled him and made him sit up, embarrassed. "Mjrn," he whispered, looking back towards the other guest room.

"What are you doing?" Fran asked softly, opening her eyes and looking up at him a bit sleepily, with a softness that she would never let anyone but Balthier see.

Balthier looked back down at her, flustered. "I thought I heard you coughing…" he trailed off.

Fran just nodded as she pulled the covers over her body again and closed her eyes. "Rigel's snoring wakes me up often," she said quietly. "Are you going back to bed or staying out here?"

"S…Staying out here," he answered. "If that's all right with you, Fran."

She patted the space beside her on the large sleeping bag. "It will be if you're quiet and don't kick too much," she said quietly, her eyes still closed. "Just sleep."

Balthier did as he was told, finding it more comfortable to be out there with her than in the room with the snoring Rigel. "Good night, Fran," he said.

"Good night, Balthier," she murmured. After a moment or so, her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. Balthier watched her face, trying to comprehend what was happening between them. He couldn't think of why he was more concerned with her than usual, why she seemed different to him, why he was noticing certain things about her that he hadn't seen before.

He was a bit angry with himself, since he knew that he had been acting so out of character. He'd lost his cool attitude and sometimes sounded like a little boy rather than the grown man that he was. That part bothered him the most. And what about what Fran had said? He realized he hadn't thought about Ashe at all in the past few days, which was odd, since he had been thinking about her more and more in the time before.

The blonde sighed lightly, deciding not to think about it anymore, since all it was doing was making more questions and less answers. He closed his eyes and settled down into the sleeping bag again. "Sleep well, Fran," he whispered, before he fell asleep himself.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Woah! I've finally got some free time! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, but between my AP classes and all that… it's been hard. But, my tests will be over on Thursday and Friday, so then I'll have plenty of free time to update this story. Let me know if it got too out of character, or anything odd like that. I haven't had the chance to play Final Fantasy XII in at least two months and I wrote this at 1 AM, so it might be a bit wonky. YAY! Fluff. Kinda. And next chapter, Ashe will come… mwahahaha. Yes. I'm strange. 


End file.
